The takeoff in Dallas-Fort Worth home sales is the biggest turnaround in the local housing market in decades.

Along with the sharp increase in purchases of single-family homes is an even steeper rise in condominium and townhouse sales.

During March, condo and townhouse sales in North Texas soared by 55 percent from a year ago.

And some residential districts saw condo and townhouse sales running at more than double the number in 2012, according to the latest look at property sales by real estate agents compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

March was the largest one-month total of condo and townhouse sales North Texas has seen since 2007.

In addition, the median sales price of condos was up 11 percent from a year ago.

Real estate agents say a combination of low mortgage rates and rising apartment rents are increasing the demand for condos and townhouses in the D-FW area.

“We are seeing a lot of empty nester and professional types coming into the higher end product,” said real estate agent Kyle Crews with Allie Beth Allman & Associates. “About half of them pay cash.

“They have done well with other investments, or there is some family assistance.”

Condo and townhouse buyers don’t have a lot to pick from.

In March there were only 1,619 pre-owned condos and townhouses listed for sale with real estate agents in North Texas — a 30 percent drop in listings from a year earlier. Inventory amounts to about a four-month supply.

With apartment costs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area rising sharply in the last few years, a growing number of renters are looking at what they can afford in a condo or townhouse, agents say.

“That’s a big driver for the market now,” said Jeff Updike with Dave Perry-Miller & Associates. “There are still some good values out there.

“There is more confidence in the marketplace, and people are looking at rents and want to buy.”